Sawed-off shotgun confiscated after teen fight in East Chicago

EAST CHICAGO | One of several teenagers involved in an after-school fistfight Thursday afternoon was carrying a loaded sawed-off shotgun, police said.

The teens dispersed by car, bicycle and on foot as police arrived about 3:30 p.m. at the corner of Columbus Drive and McShane Avenue.

A responding officer reported seeing what appeared to be the butt of a firearm sticking out of the hooded sweatshirt of a juvenile riding double on the back of a bike leaving the scene.

The teen jumped off the bicycle and began running as the officer approached, police said, holding his sweatshirt with both hands as he fled through yards and alleys before being cornered in the 500 block of 142nd Street.

Residents directed officers to the back of a home on that block where police reported finding a sawed-off 12 gauge pump-action shotgun containing five live rounds hidden under a parked vehicle.

While in custody, the 17-year-old West Calumet-area resident was found to be carrying five plastic bags containing suspected marijuana rolled up in a trouser leg, police said.

On Friday, he was taken to the Lake County Juvenile Center in Crown Point. He faces charges of resisting law enforcement, dangerous possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana.